Senate Democrats Find Their Voice on School Reform

By Tressa Pankovits

A colleague recently observed: “Parents have spoken: The school choice debate is over! Now, the debate is about ‘what’ school choice will look like ¾ will it be truly public, or will taxpayer dollars universally fund selective private schools?”

At PPI, we believe that public school options should be just that: public, free, and open to all. Only public schools can ensure that students do not suffer discrimination or exclusion based on race, religion or any other protected categories.

That’s why we were heartened to see a cadre of U.S. Senate Democrats join Republican Senators John Cornyn (R-Texas), Tim Scott (R-S.C.) Bill Cassidy (R-La.), and Mike Braun (R-Ind.) in sponsoring a bill that would encourage school choice that is truly public ¾ and proven.

Senators Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) signed on as co-sponsors of the Empower Charter School Educators to Lead Act (ECSEL).

Charter schools are public, free, and open to all, just like traditional district schools. Importantly, they have a 30 year track record of improving student outcomes, especially for low income and minority students in urban neighborhoods. At a time when parents are increasingly turning away from traditional, government-operated schools, it’s critical that that the choices on offer are high quality and subject to rigorous accountability.

Introduced Wednesday, ECSEL (a.k.a. SB 3072) would authorize existing federal funding to help states streamline the application process for applicants seeking to open new public charter schools. Specifically, ECSEL would authorize states that receive federal Charter Schools Program grants (CSP) to award up to $100,000 to each qualified prospective charter school applicant and/or public or nonprofit entity that would support new public charters during their development phase.

Developing ¾ or even replicating ¾ high quality public charter school models takes time and money, which is hard to come by for a school that isn’t “quite” a school yet. That has a chilling effect on the pipeline of potentially great schools matched to pressing needs in already underinvested communities. The funds in SB 3072 are intended to help equalize the opportunity for educators and school leaders who want to open a charter school but lack the resources to navigate complex processes or underwrite planning costs required to submit a high-quality charter school application.

“The complexity of the charter school application process discourages many educators from taking innovative approaches to advancing our country’s education system,” said Senator Booker. “They should have the necessary support and financial resources to navigate the application process, so more children have access to high-quality public education. This bipartisan bill will provide vital funding and support for technical assistance and administrative requirements to encourage the development of new high-quality public charter school applications and promote innovation in our children’s education.”

To be eligible for the pass-through grants, prospective charter school leaders must:

· Be educators with at least five years of school-based experience;

· Have successfully completed the development of an initial plan for the opening of a public charter school; and

· Apply for the funding before submitting a charter application to an authorized public chartering agency.

Additionally, SB 3072 is designed to encourage states to incubate more new public charter schools. Increased federal support would:

· Permit states to use up to 5% of their CSP grant funds for those pre-planning awards;

· Raise the cap on the percentage of state entities’ grant funds that may be used for technical assistance from 7% to 10%;

· Raise the cap on the percentage that may be used for state administration of charter school programs from 3% to 5%; and

· Clarify that states’ technical assistance activities may include assistance in locating and accessing a facility.

“Charter schools provide flexibility and innovative educational opportunities for students across Colorado, but too often, they run into burdensome red tape and regulations from the federal government,” Senator Bennet said in a news release. “This bill would ensure that charter schools can access federal grants and reach more families in underserved communities.

Bennet, Booker, Hassan and Schatz’ support for public charter schools comes at a critical time. Poll after poll has demonstrated that parents everywhere want more, not fewer school choices for their children. In a recent nationwide survey, 77% of parents viewed public charters favorably — including 80% of Black parents and 71% of Latino parents. Among Democrats, 73% said they viewed public charter schools favorably, preferring public options to private vouchers by a 40-percentage-point margin. Independent voters preferred public options to private vouchers by a 28-percentage-point margin.

Supporters of public schools choice that is truly public ¾ and proven ¾ like us are glad to see these elected Democrats responding to parents’ and voters’ opinions. Their challenge to the preK-12 status quo, which is increasingly losing popular support, is sorely needed. Too Democrats have stayed silent for fear of offending powerful teachers unions.

At the same time, Republicans, especially governors and state legislators, are exploiting public frustration to pass privatization bills that would actually dismantle public education and all the benefits it confers.

Democrats must urgently reclaim public sector reform and ensure that parents have school choices that are public, free, and open to all. SB 3072 offers Democrats who’ve turned their back on charter schools in recent years an opportunity to rehabilitate their reputations with the vast majority of voters who care about school choice.

Bennet, Booker, Hassan and Schatz are leading by example. PPI encourages the rest of Congressional Democrats to rejoin the fight to ensure all parents and kids have free, equitable access to high quality public schools organized around the proven formula of parental choice, school autonomy and rigorous accountability for results.

Tressa Pankovits is the co-director of the Reinventing America’s Schools Project at the Progressive Policy Institute.